Thank God I'm Atheist

A pastor says he's under attack for his faith. The truth is worse... and dumber! After the home of Tennessee preacher Greg Locke was shot up, he immediately declared it an act of Christian persecution (without evidence). When it later became clear the attack had nothing to do with religion, the story took a turn that perfectly captures how grievance, fear, and bad faith keep the persecution narrative alive.
Elsewhere this week: Utah's Republican legislature tries to erase Salt Lake City's Harvey Milk BLVD by threatening to rename it after Charlie Kirk; Texas AG Ken Paxton sues over imaginary Christian discrimination in a driver's handbook; Protestant churches are closing faster than they're opening; an Oklahoma city blocks a new mosque after openly Islamophobic public testimony; Department of Homeland Security quietly gives immigration breaks to religious workers amid a broader crackdown; and a Catholic bishop ignites chaos by dictating the "correct" way to kneel during communion.
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In a calculated hedge against hell, Dilbert creator Scott Adams announces a death-bed conversion to Christianity, explicitly framing it as Pascal's Wager—a cynical, calculated play for the afterlife. Christians celebrate, atheists groan, and we unpack why this story is catnip for religious propaganda, why the logic collapses instantly, and why deathbed conversions remain one of Christianity's favorite—and flimsiest—victory laps. (Adams passed away at age 68 from prostate cancer after we recorded the show.)
Then: the Pope condemns medical aid in dying after Illinois legalizes it, a lawyer is fined $400,000 for warning a school about an accused priest, the U.S. Defense Secretary pushes Christianity deeper into the military, China cracks down on underground Christian churches, Israel prepares to relocate a so-called "lost tribe" from India, and the LDS Church quietly dismantles its all-female Temple Square mission.
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What happens when Trump desecrates a painting of Jesus? Billionaires line up to buy it. At a Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve party, Trump signs a painting of Christ—offering a very public glimpse at how faith, money, and power now intersect.
From there, it's a week of religion doing what it does best: embarrassing itself in public. A failed doomsday prophet in Ghana finds out there are consequences when the apocalypse doesn't show up, Iran's theocratic regime faces mass protests fueled by hunger and economic collapse, and conservatives melt down after New York City's new mayor commits the ultimate sin—taking his oath of office on the "wrong" holy book. Plus, Marjorie Taylor Greene stumbles into a moment of clarity about Trump's faith, Chick-fil-A makes things awkward again, and we ask—once more—what any of this is actually doing to the country.

A University of Oklahoma instructor gave a student a failing grade — and lost their job over it.
The reason? Religion entered the chat. We unpack how a routine college assignment turned into a culture-war flashpoint, why academic standards suddenly became optional, and how religious grievance keeps getting rewarded when it collides with higher education.
Also this week: Trump administration officials decide government social media accounts are a fine place to preach Christianity, Sarah Huckabee Sanders issues a Christmas proclamation that sounds more like a sermon, and a Colorado megachurch leans hard into child-trafficking panic to push anti-trans ballot initiatives. Plus new Pew numbers on religion in America, a rare LDS feel-good story, listener mail, and yet another reminder that moral panic never really goes away — it just finds new targets.

What happens when a man decides an airplane cabin is the perfect place to hold church? This week, we discuss the now-viral moment of a passenger pulling out his guitar mid-flight to serenade a captive audience with praise songs. Some travelers joined in while everyone else stared ahead in silent fury. We talk about public space, consent, religious entitlement, and why "sharing the Good News" at 30,000 feet feels less like ministry and more like an in-flight nightmare.
Also on the show: Franklin Graham preaching about God's love and God's hatred at a Christmas service hosted at the Pentagon; an Arizona lawmaker pushing to force "intelligent design" into public school science classes; the Catholic Archdiocese of New York selling off prime real estate to pay clergy abuse settlements after its insurer refuses coverage; an Anglican bishop cleared after allegedly mishandling multiple abuse cases; a self-styled prophet predicting a Christmas flood and building multiple arks to survive it; and a surprisingly hopeful look at how AI is helping scholars translate ancient religious texts—possibly demystifying scripture faster than ever before.
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